Link to SWCC Blog

SWCC supports club based caving and actively encourages participation

SWCC encourages and supports individuals who are interested in caving and assists them by introducing them to the sport. For more information about starting off in caving see here.

Provisional Members' weekends

If you have never tried caving but have had a curiosity about what is involved and what it is like to explore the subterranean world than the weekend that we hold from time to time to attract new Provisional Members may be of interest to you. On these weekends we invite a variety of people from those who have perhaps caved once or twice before to those who have never set foot inside a cave to come and find out what caving with The South Wales Caving Club is all about. Provisional members' weekends are family friendly.

We have a Provisional's weekends in November and May these will provide a focused weekend of activities to introduce individuals to caving and the club ethos of SWCC. If you are interested in participating please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If that weekend does not work for you, or if it is oversubscribed, there will be follow on opportunities in March and November 2018, precise dates to follow.

Freestyle

Alternatively you can just drop by the club and see if anyone is available to take you caving, but to avoid possible disappointment I suggest that you check with our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in advance to ensure that there will be someone available to look after you.

What you need to know about Provisional Member weekends

Caving trips will take place on Saturday and Sunday.

Participants need to register for the weekend with Claire. All are encouraged to stay for both days and arrive on the Friday evening, if possible, to get the full SWCC and Long Common Room experience.

Important information:

All attendees must join as SWCC Provisional members, it is £10.00 to join SWCC as a provisional member for a year. However, membership will only be ratified when British Caving Association insurance is purchased. If you want to continue caving beyond the Provisionals’ weekend, you will need to purchase BCA 3rd party liability caving insurance. SWCC membership forms can be downloaded here:

Accommodation at SWCC will be £5.00 per night. Bring your own sleeping bag.

Food. There may be the option for communal food at SWCC, depending on whether some members volunteer to support this, check when booking.

Cakes. Possibly, but no promises

Provisional's weekend testimonials

Last weekend my sister and I visited penwyllt for the first time, we were strangers to the South Wales caving club and strangers to caving. Upon arrival I noticed how beautiful the cottages and surrounding area were. We arrived early Friday evening and there were already many club members there, all of them made us feel very welcome. At one point I was introduced to a young boy named James, he was 12 years old and told me he had been caving since he was 3, I couldn't believe it, it's safe to say I was both amazed and impressed, little did I know that he would be leading us on our second day of caving (he did a fantastic job). We spent the evening having a few drinks and chatting with members about their experiences in caves, I did feel a little anxious but that soon ended after discussing the next day's plan with Andy and Antonia.

Saturday morning came and the group took a lovely walk up the hill towards the entrance of OFD , I couldn't wait to get in there. having never been caving before I had no idea what it was going to be like, I expected dark tunnels and was actually shown a whole new world, there were some truly amazing sights.. who would have thought there was so much down there. We walked, crawled, slid, climbed up, climbed down and waded through water. At points when I thought I'd panic, the group leaders and adrenaline took over and helped me through it, I think the part that scared me the most was going down the cork screw, knowing there was a big drop behind me and not being able to see where my feet needed to go was quite scary, that's where team work came in, without my team mates guiding me down I wouldn't have managed, it's definitely safe to say that teamwork is a must down there, luckily everyone was great and we all got on really well, helping eachother along the way.

We were in OFD II for five hours, when we first went in it was broad daylight outside, when we came back out the sun was just going down. We'd spent the majority of the day travelling through a beautiful caving system, I felt like I'd seen so much, but after seeing on the map what areas we had covered I realised we'd only seen a tiny fraction of what was there, I couldn't wait to see more of it.

After getting back to the cottages and having a well needed shower, we settled down for dinner and drinks, again we had the chance to meet other members of the club that had arrived while we were out, I must confess that I don't remember the names of everyone we met, there were so many people and my nerves made it difficult for me to converse as well as I usually would, but I'm sure in time it will get easier for me, I was certainly made to feel very welcome there and everyone was really nice and friendly.

Sunday morning came and we were getting ready for day 2 of caving, this time we were going to OFD I, we took a long walk down to the entrance, after climbing down a few ladders we were in, at this point I felt more excited than nervous.. I couldn't wait to see more! This time we had to take a cows tail each, I looked forward to finding out why we'd need it, little did I know that it would turn out to be one of my favourite parts of the day!

On the route we took, there were four challenging parts that we were told to expect, although I must admit that two of them I found easier than some of the normal caving.. At one point we had to climb up quite a slippery section, I lost grip of my feet and was dangling by my arms.. Usually I'd have panicked in a situation like that but I found it a little funny and knew that my team leaders were there to help and that I had no reason to worry, Claire was very patient with me on that part and was a big help. One of my favourite parts was the bolt traverse, followed by using rope to get over and down a steep edge, being afraid of heights.. Both were scary but exciting.

On the third challenging part Claire led me up first (we could only go one at a time), after I was up safely, she went back to guide the next person up, whilst I was waiting I took the opportunity to take a seat, turn off my head torch and just sit in darkness and listen to the sounds around me, it was very relaxing.

Much like day one, we had to crawl, climb, wade through water etc, we also had chance to go back to our childhood and roly poly through a long narrow patch :) everyone had some laughs at that point, it was good fun. We did a fair bit of climbing down boulders/rocks, it reminded me of when my brother and I used to rock climb at the beach on holiday, it was great fun.

I was very impressed with James' caving skills, being so young I thought he might struggle, but struggle he did not, he was very confident and did an amazing job at leading us through, he made me realise that people of all ages could cave and that maybe one day I could bring my son along to try it out.

We spent four hours in OFD I, the time flew by and I enjoyed every minute, again we had a great team and enjoyed each others company.

On both days the group leaders, members and provisional members were all great, I got on with everyone in both groups. Everyone at the club that I had chance to speak to made me feel welcome, it's like a big caving family :) I cant wait to go back and see more parts of the cave!

The weekend was definitely an experience that I will never forget and I look forward to joining you again soon,